iStat Menus can't control fan speeds?

[Sean Dempsey]

I spent the money on iStat Menus (not the dashboard widget), hoping to get better fan control than SMC. It is on a 2011 Air ultimate.

When I go to change the speeds, it doesn't actually work. I've rebooted my machine, still when I choose the active setting (high 5000rpm), the machine just stays at the default 2000rpm.

What is the deal here, how can I get this thing working?

 

[appleguy123]

You said didn't like SMC Fan Control, but it at least works unless someone can give you a better solution.

 

[kulimer]

if you have Windows, try speedfan.

 

[Queen6]

As neither SMC fan control or iStat menus will work it is likely that your problem lies elsewhere as these are both tried and proven programs. You might start with diagnostics (http://support.apple.com/kb/ht2644) or reinstall the OS

 

[appleguy123]

Have you tried an SMC reset?

Shut down the computer.
Plug in the MagSafe power adapter to a power source, connecting it to the Mac if its not already connected.
On the built-in keyboard, press the (left side) Shift-Control-Option keys and the power button at the same time.
Release all the keys and the power button at the same time.
Press the power button to turn on the computer. *
Note: The LED*on the MagSafe power adapter may change states or temporarily turn off when you reset the SMC.

 

[Sean Dempsey]

Yes, I've done the SMC reset

Are you guys sure that this will work with Lion and a 2011 MBA?

 

[Queen6]

Yes I am running SMC fan control; Lion 10.7.1 on 13inch, i5, 256Gb, 11 inch i5, 128Gb MacBook AiR`s, and Snow leopard 10.6.8 on a MacBook Pro 2.4Ghz Penryn.

I have always found SMC fan control to be very stable and have run it for several years without issue. This is why I believe your issue lies elsewhere, try the Air`s built in diagnostics, this will at least be a starting point and you wont loose any data.

Have you tried any other fan control SW? as some interacts very closely with the SMC and can be difficult to remove 100%, one of the reasons I prefer SMC fan control as it`s simply an executable program and has no lasting consequence if stopped or removed from the system, nor does it override Apple thermal management.

You stated in you previous post that you Air is getting "blisteringly hot" this in it`s self may also be a clue as the fan should cut in and ramp up once the CPU passes 80C and the case may get warm, however not excessively hot

 

[bwhaley]

Yes, I've done the SMC reset

Are you guys sure that this will work with Lion and a 2011 MBA?

Did you ever find a solution to this? I'm experiencing the same issue. My ODD fan is constantly running at 3800 RPM (temperature is 37deg) and iStat Menus does not seem to have an impact. Clearly there's something wrong with the fan sensor but there's no app that lets me LOWER the fan speed intentionally to test if the temperature increases.

 

[Sean Dempsey]

Nope. I disabled the iStat fan control and just gave up. The MBA 2011 Ultimate has been a pretty big disappointment, but I've made peace with it, and will buy the next model and sell this one.

 

[TheJing]

What's wrong with SMC? It does exactly what it's supposed to do. Takes only 2 clicks to change the fan speed.

 

[elpmas]

If you paid for iStat Menus, why don't you contact the Dev's support team? smcFanControl is free...I don't see what's wrong with it if it's doing what you need it to do. ._.

 

[WhoDaKat]

Well I didn't want "better" fan control as SMC does work, but since I have iStat Menus running anyway, I was hoping to just condense into one program. Unfortunately, even though SMC has never had a problem running, iStat Menus refuses to control the fans. It can read all the temps, voltages, and rpms, it just can't control the fans.

It has to be an issue with iStat Menus and newer macs because the upgrade notes for the latest version (3.1.9) mention they were working on the sensor control of new iMacs. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to have worked. I'm running 10.7.2 on a 2011 iMac and no dice on the fan control.

 

[daonesteven]

i'm guessing some of you guys use your airs for some really heavy duty stuff that requires fan control? I guess in my daily usage, I can't see the need for one.

 

[0134168]

I have a MBA middle 2011 , and also purchased Istat. At the beginning the fan control speed worked ok, but, one day, stopped working. Really weird stuff.

 

[the_indios]

I have a MBP middle 2009, with same issue.

It stopped working as I do the SMC reset.

I think I should unistall iStat Menus (with some uninstaller app) and reinstall it again.

 

[the_indios]

I solved with this steps:

1. delete all rules inside sensors
2. open cmd and give:

sudo pkill -9 "iStat"

3. rebooted (just after).